Bally Total Fitness

I wanted to join a gym and start a healthier lifestyle and was enticed by their offer of $ 70 for the whole year. When I signed the contract, I was basically rushed to sign and wasn’t aware of the $ 40 membership annual fee (cause they didn’t tell me and wasn’t given a chance to completely read the contract!). Also, they told me that I could bring a friend for free for any time I go to the gym, but wasn’t told that they would be later harassed to join the gym and wouldn’t be allowed to come back if they declined a membership. These people are awful and make you feel uncomfortable with how they are. They just have no sense of customer service etiquette. They made everyone uncomfortable (even my friends who wouldn’t go in to work out and were just standing with me were basically harassed to join by making them feel bad for not working out). I had trainer sessions and he literally was USELESS. He’d be on the phone or would talk to other people while he was supposed to be training me. At this point, I’m just staying at the gym because I already paid the $ 70 and was charged the $ 40 (one random day, to my surprise, putting my account balance at a negative!). So to sum it all up, DON’T DO IT. IT’S A TRAP. Also, after googling them, I learned my lesson and will never get into things without googling them in advance.

If I could give 0 starts I would. This gym is full of rude people with attitude. There is no sense of customer service. They are disrespectful and unwilling to help. Please DO NOT sign up for membership here. I am having a very difficult time trying to cancel my membership. I called the gym several times. They are so unwilling to help that they would put me on hold and then hang up. Or say something like, wait for an email from somebody at the billing office. I tried to tell the person that I never shared my email address, if he would like to write it down and the guy hung up on me. They will use whatever they can to squeeze money out of you. Also a lot of classes that are promised on the class schedule are often cancelled or the instructors don’t show up on time. Many times I changed my work schedule, moved things around to attend the classes and the instructors were no show or late. You will also notice a bunch of sleazy men hang out at the gym all the time. I have also notice several complains about this gym on the Better Business Bureau site:

I joined this gym in for the summer because the gym at my school was closed at times I wanted to go to. I joined with a $ 30 sign-​up fee and $ 20/​month agreement with one of the gym staff. They did not mention to me that you can’t cancel your membership for a year when I joined. Initially they said they would charge $ 20/​month to my card. But they havce been charging me $ 30 every month and last month when I checked, they charged me $ 39. They ahve been stealing from me for over 5 months and I can’t do anything to stop this. NEVER EVER JOIN THIS GYM. THEY WILL LIE TO YOU AND STEAL FROM YOU. THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL CON MEN, NOT A GYM.
When you initally join the gym, they will tell you that the sign-​up fee is $ 199. If you are gullible, thjey will take advantage of you and make you pay the entire $ 199. I brought it down to $ 30.
I don’t even go the gym anymore because I’m super busy with my school work and my job. I went to the gym the other day to talk to them about it and there wasn’t anyone to talk to. I tried calling. No one would answer/​call back.

Amazing bang for your buck, licensed dietitian, and physical therapy included in membership … All for 19.99₂₉.99 per month.

This gym is all about stealing your money for as long as they can! I got roped into signing up at very weak moment in March. I woke up the next morning with a clear mind (very happy at Vent and knew I wouldn’t go to the mall to work out) and decided to cancel everything, which I did certified mail according to the contract (consumer right within 3 days).
No information was transferred from the corporate office to the franchised gym and so I have now been charged for months and am in process of getting my refund. Even though I have everything in hand and have been approved by corporate, The manager Chris is avoiding my calls and so I’m sitting here now in the gym waiting for him to finish his workout to get my refund…
Ridiculous.

This is a 3 star gym in what will be for many members a 5 star location. Especially around the holidays, the chance to break up a shopping trip with your choice of a workout is a real luxury, compared with spending a solid several hours fighting crowds.
The facility itself could be considered average; it is clean with good availability of equipment as another reviewer said. There aren’t any extras here though — there’s no pool or sauna such as at many Bally clubs, and certainly no racquetball courts as a few have. Unlike other’s possible views, I’d consider this a Planet Fitness class club in an excellent location for people who can appreciate a few hours only of mall shopping at a stretch. The integration of many Bally clubs into the LA Fitness group should prove very interesting and may offer future improvements — or not. If you like its location, you’ll find parking to be not a serious problem; it’s reasonable to walk a ways to get to a workout of course, and actually parking is very easy much of the day. You should find this at worst an excellent addition to a set of clubs to visit in a multiclub membership.

This gym is just definitely a disappointment. Before I joined Bally’s Total Fitness, I had always wondered what it was like from its mysterious outside appearance at the Crossgates Mall. I had relocated from another part of New York that had several really good gyms, but recently had a membership at Planet Fitness and was looking for some place local with classes and Bally’s was close and convenient to where I lived.
Their advertisements boasted of a $ 10/​mo. membership and other incentives, but when I sat down with a representative, I realized that there were a variety of packages to choose from, and in order to avoid a contract, had to pay a higher monthly membership. So okay, fine, $ 19.99/ mo. with start up fee seemed doable, as I was told by the rep that all of the classes and instructors teaching them were great, and that they had a variety of classes to choose from.
I am a Monday-​Friday, 9 – 5 employee, so I was looking for group class options that suited my schedule during both the week and the weekends. Bally’s offers classes only Monday thru Friday. There are two group classes offered after the 5 PM time frame, one typically starting at 5:30 PM and one immediately following at 6:30 PM. The spin class is held simultaneously between both of the classes, from 6 PM to 7 PM in another room.
I’m amending this section, which I had originally gone into greater detail about the lack of classes as they just implemented a new schedule on 7÷25÷11. An additional three classes were added to the schedule, but pretty much only replacing existing slots. Still no classes are offered on the weekends. Staff have agreed that there is not a great deal of variety and have reassured members that more classes are going to be added, including weekend classes, but this had not happened since I have been a member.
The convenience of the mall may seem enticing, but the reality is that you should plan to come to the gym at least 15 minutes early if you want to find parking, especially during the holiday season. You’re stuck fending for spots right along with all of the shoppers.
The rest of the gym equipment are fine. Like another Unilocaler has said, there does always seem to be enough availability, but that may be because people have caught on that this gym is only mediocre at best. The bathrooms are okay, but only fairly clean. This gym does not have that «planet fitness» feel and there is a following of larger weight lifting guys that may grunt and carry around gallons of water while they work out.
I have to admit, I did not take advantage of the 7 day pass that is offered prior to joining the gym. I was being rash and did not think this out very well and am now stuck here until my membership expires. If you are thinking about an early termination, you have the option to «downgrade» your membership by paying off the current one and joining for another year at the lower price, or paying off the remainder of your membership early to end your membership. In other words, you’re out of luck either way. As a side note, at Planet Fitness, they helped me figure out how to end my membership without a huge termination fee out of my «Black Card» membership. This gym feels very illusive and dishonest in so many ways.
I strongly recommend that you check out any gym, even if it is Bally’s, and take advantage of the offers they have for a trial membership or guest pass before committing. Don’t make the same mistake that I did.

I signed up for the free week long guest pass to check it out. This gym is really clean and there is never a wait for the machines here. The location is convenient (it’s in the mall after all) and you can treat yourself to some clothes after working out! It’s a two level gym-​the first floor has all the weights and mats for weight training and toning as well as the studio for most of the classes. The second level has all the cardio machines-​bikes and treadmills and ellipticals-​and there is plenty of them! There is also a small studio for the spinning bikes-​spinning courses are offered daily. I have taken the yoga morning class which I thought was relaxing but a bit too slow for me. It was more catered to the elderly I’m guessing but it was still calming and relaxing. I also took the powerflex class which woah worked my ineffectual arms HARD. A lot of reps! The zumba class is really fun-​lots of upbeat music and it definitely will make you sweat! I have taken a spinning course-​also makes you sweat but I really don’t like being so stationary when working out. If you take spin though, I find Bernie really endearing and fun. He shouts, «ARE YOU READY?» The front desk guys always have a smile on their faces which is a small thing but really goes a long way to making me feel welcomed. I have been to the gym on weekdays in the morning and evening and at both times – there is NEVER a wait for a machine! SWEET! :)